DIY TV mounts

[AverageEverydayNormalGuy]

Hello everyone!

We bought a 2022 Volante 32FB and it did not come with any TVs installed. There are stickers on the exterior wall for the master bedroom and one above the fireplace for the living room. I watched a video of a suffering owner of a 2021 32FB that assumed the sticker above the fireplace was the exact location of a solid plate inside the wall. He ended up drilling through the wall and into the bunks on the other side. I would like to learn from his mistake and avoid doing this both in the main room and the exterior wall for the master bedroom.

Living Room mount
We purchased a 'Mount-It! Lockable RV TV Wall Mount for 42 50 55 Inch Televisions, Locking Detachable Full Motion Bracket for Travel Trailers, RVs, Campers, Motorhomes and Marine Boats, VESA 200 400, 77 Lbs Capacity' for the main room TV. It will be supporting an LG 50" TV (21lbs). The base of the mount has 5 points where 2" lag bolts are supposed to mount to the wall. The horizontal space between the holes are approximately 4.75" apart. The vertical spacing of the holes is 5" apart. When looking at the front of the mount there are 2 holes on the right and 3 on the left.

After much observation of the mounting screw placement for the tv/fireplace cabinet, wall thumping, and stud detecting I believe I have located the vertical supports inside the wall. There appears to be 3 vertical supports that run about 12" apart. My plan is to create a support outside the wall that is 26" wide x 12" tall across the area where I'd like to place the TV mount. They would span all 3 vertical supports behind the wall to give extra support.

• Is this overkill for a TV that ways 21lbs and a mount that weighs 10lbs? Will there be enough support if only 3 of the 5 supports have bolts?
• What should I use for the support? Plywood? 1x4s? Something else?
• The mount came with 2" lag bolts (I think they are 1/4 diameter). I'm sure it will go through the wall. Will 1" bolts be sufficient?

Whatever I do, the depth of TV + Mount + extra support must be < the distance from the back of the cabinet to the slide out when it is closed. If the TV sticks out too far it will come into contact with the slide out when the slide out is in. I'm not sure how much wiggle room I have there yet.

Bedroom mount

After thumping around it appears as though there is a solid panel behind the wall above the window. We purchased a 'PERLESMITH RV Lockable TV Wall Mount for Most 23-43 Inch LED, LCD, OLED Plasma, Flat Screen TVs Full Motion with Articulating Arm Bears up to 77 lbs Swivels Tilts Extends for MotorHomes Camper Trailer' to support a 32" Samsung TV (9 lbs). Mount is 7lbs. The manufacturer and the dealer cannot answer how the exterior wall was constructed. I read somewhere that the best way to figure out what type of screw to use is to take out one that is already there. There just happened to be a lose 1" lag that was on the floor and I believe that is what was used to secure the main slide out to the wall.

• The mount came with 2" lag bolts. Would 1" with the same diameter work?
• Can I safely assume there is a solid panel back there or should I be looking for a frame support?

Thank you for your reply and time to read this post!

- AverageEverydayNormalGuy

[Captbill]

These are just a few suggestions for mounting those tv brackets. On either inside or outside walls, I used a 1/16” drill bit to locate the actual wood behind the walls. It makes a small putty fillable hole that can mark the edges and width of the wood beams. You can also locate outer wall beams by viewing the exterior of the camper early morning with the dew still on the unit.

Regarding the tv weights, keep in mind going down the bumpy road can make 21 lbs swing a little like 40 or more pounds, so make sure that 50” unit is anchored well. I would pre-mount a 3/4 piece of plywood larger then the tv mount, that spans a large area behind the tv. You won’t see it, so use multiple 2” long course cut screws to secure it. Then you can attach the tv mount to it.

[AverageEverydayNormalGuy]

Originally Posted by Captbill

These are just a few suggestions for mounting those tv brackets. On either inside or outside walls, I used a 1/16” drill bit to locate the actual wood behind the walls. It makes a small putty fillable hole that can mark the edges and width of the wood beams. You can also locate outer wall beams by viewing the exterior of the camper early morning with the dew still on the unit.

Regarding the tv weights, keep in mind going down the bumpy road can make 21 lbs swing a little like 40 or more pounds, so make sure that 50” unit is anchored well. I would pre-mount a 3/4 piece of plywood larger then the tv mount, that spans a large area behind the tv. You won’t see it, so use multiple 2” long course cut screws to secure it. Then you can attach the tv mount to it.

Thank you so much captbill! The trick of using a 1/16th drill bit was exactly what I needed.

It turns out that the mount in the bedroom had a metal plate in the wall. I used 1 inch lag bolts to secure it and it seems really solid. I bought locking mounts thinking it would cut down on the added stress from a bumpy road but your point is well taken.

With your advice in mind I got a 3/4 inch plank and stained it charcoal grey. It doesn't exactly match the backing of the cabinet or the cabinet itself but it's close enough. And as you said it's behind the TV so it doesn't look THAT out of place. I'm so glad you mentioned the 1/16th test holes because I was SURE I knew where the supports were behind the wall. Turns out I only had two of three, so the test holes were a huge help. I cut the plank to be 29 x 11.5 and used 12 #12 1.25 inch screws to secure the plank to the wall. I then used 1.25 inch lag bolts to secure the mount.

Both TV's have survived their first trip! Thanks again CaptBill!